King tells of Irate Prince
Phnom Penh Post
Friday, 15 July 1994
By Nate Thayer
PRIOR to the coup attempt, His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk related how the two alleged masterminds were angry with their leaders in the CPP.
During an interview with the Post in Beijing on June 11 the King said his son, Prince Chakrapong, and former Defence Minister Sin Song were furious because they had not been rewarded for leading a secession movement in the wake of the elections last year.
Though breakaway bid in several eastern provinces quickly fizzled out, many seasoned observers credited it with forcing Funcinpec to include their CPP rivals in a coalition government.
The King said: "The reason why Sin Song and Chakrapong are now very very angry, vis a vis angry at Hun Sen, is because they serve Hun Sen, the puppets of Hun Sen, and they cannot have any important position now.
"Chakrapong told me after the end of the seccession 'I served Hun Sen, but now Hun Sen let me down. He is co-premier and his party , his group remain in power with Ranariddh. We the People's Party continue to dominate, to have the real power, to exercise it to dominate Cambodia, and there are only two victims, Sin Song and Chakrapong.'
"He told me that! He told me! 'Papa it is unnacceptable. They enjoy power. They continue. They used us as their instrument to remain in power because I saved the situation, by forming, setting up, against the will of Prince Ranariddh.' "
Reuters reports: Cambodian government and parliamentary leaders paid their respects in Phnom Penh on Monday to the late North Korean Kim Il-sung, a long-time friend of King Norodom Sihanouk.
About 100 diplomats and government officials, including Second Prime Minister Hun Sen and parliamentary president Chea Sim, attended a ceremony at the North Korean Embassy where both national flags flew at halt mast.
The King decreed three days of mourning in Cambodia